Celtics to give Markelle Fultz his shot, and he's ready to take it

Celtics to give Markelle Fultz his shot, and he's ready to take it

The more that comes out ahead of the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics opening night matchup, the more the spotlight shines on Markelle Fultz.

While the second-year guard drew plenty of attention last season and in the buildup to this year, a nationally televised rivalry game will take things to another level. Fultz has seemingly fixed his jump shot which was impacted last season by a shoulder injury and has entered the Sixers’ starting five.

But as Keith Pompey of the Philly Inquirer revealed, the team is expecting Boston to give Fultz quite a few looks from the outside. And if you believe the former No. 1 pick, he’s ready to take them.

#Sixers guard @MarkelleF on facing the #Celtics: "You have to know how the defense is going to play you and just be aware of it, and I’m ready. Like I said, I put in a lot of work to be prepared in a game. I’m going to be ready." The Sixers expect Boston to sag away from Fultz.

Obviously, there’s a lot of variables that go into how teams defend one another, but this plan would make sense from the Celtics. Fultz’s jump shot is one major unknown and laying off him defensively allows the team to be in position to offer more help on Joel Embiid inside.

Time will tell, but if Fultz does get open looks and manages to knock them down, it’ll benefit the Sixers on the offensive end in a big way.